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Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Guide to Tadoussac

Tadoussac is our favorite town in the whole province of Quebec. It is situated on the north coast of the St. Lawrence, about 3 hours east of Quebec City. The Saguenay river flows into the St. Lawrence here, the combination of salt and fresh water making it the perfect feeding ground for the different whale species that make Tadoussac popular with whale enthusiasts. It is not just a beautiful spot, it is a very comfortable place for tourists with its bohemian cafes, nice terraces, and small B&B’s. It is a very small town yet it has an international flavour (being very popular with Europeans). But the best thing is that it hasn’t been ruined by tourism.

Continue on for our Guide to Tadoussac.

 

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec
to get to Tadoussac, you have to take a 10 minute ferry ride from Baie Ste. Catherine on the other side of the Saguenay river.

 

ferry ride from Baie Ste. Catherine to Tadoussac

 


 

 

The most popular thing to do in Tadoussac is to take an excursion out into the St. Lawrence to see the whales. The whole tourism industry is built around this and you have different choices of companies and different sized boats, from large ones with a capacity of 500 people to small zodiacs containing 12 people. It all depends how adventurous you are. The typical tour, on the larger boats, is either 3 or  6 hours.

 

Recommended: This 3 hour tour on a large boat Or this 2 1/2 hour tour on a zodiac

 

Whatever you do, you have to take at least one whale excursion. You’re guaranteed to see whales, this is one of the prime feeding grounds in the world for them. The most likely to spot: the white Beluga whales (they are the only ones who stay here year long), Minke whales, Humpback whales (which are the most spectacular, sometimes jumping out of the water), porpoises and dolphins. You might even see Blue Whales, which are the largest whales on earth.

Here are a few images of the various whales.

Excursions can be booked almost last minute, there’s no shortage of them. My biggest tip is to dress warmly: it might be 35C on shore but out in the middle of the St. Lawrence it can feel like 5C. I’ve been to Tadoussac 3 times and every time I’ve gone on an excursion I’ve seen people climb on with their shorts and flip flops, fighting past us for a spot on the top deck so that they can tan themselves. 10 minutes later those same people are shivering and blue and fighting to get into the indoor cabin. So don’t worry if initially you don’t get prime seating, you’ll have it within minutes of setting off.

A few more geographical details: The St. Lawrence at this point is 25 km wide, you can see the north coast of the Gaspe in the horizon. At this point in the St. Lawrence, you are still 1000 km away from the Atlantic Ocean. It just shows you what a huge waterway the river is.

 

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Saguenay river in Tadoussac

 


 

 

My favorite thing in Tadoussac is climbing the rocks around the “Point”. It’s a pretty spot at the junctions of  the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers. Come here for sunset, it’s a beautiful spot and you’ll most likely see a few whales if you hang around a bit. Below are a few photos taken over 3 days. As you can see the light is always changing.

 

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

sunset on Saguenay river, Quebec

sunset on Saguenay river, Quebec

 


 

 

sunset on Saguenay river, Quebec. Tadoussac
ferry on the Saguenay river, Tadoussac

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec.


 

 

The boardwalk, next to the Hotel Tadoussac, is another pretty spot to walk and enjoy the views of the pier and the St. Lawrence.

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

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Where to Stay

The place to stay in Tadoussac is the historic Hotel Tadoussac. Old, historic, and perfectly located (pictured below). Hotel La Beluga and Motel de L’Anse a L’Eau are a few alternatives.

 

Where to stay in Tadoussac

 


 

 

 

Eating

One of our greatest pleasures in Tadoussac is eating. For a small town, it has a number of high quality eating spots which I’ll detail below. Every time we come back here we brace ourselves to see a fast food joint. To date there are none in Tadoussac. Here are our favorite eating spots in town;

Café Boheme. Great for lunch or dinner. Fresh pasta, gourmet burgers (including great tofu burger), fish, thin crust pizzas, nice salads. Fantastic desserts. Very high quality.

Restaurant at the Hotel Beluga. The Fish and Chips are great, the best thing on their menu (pictured below). Recommended for a non-fancy lunch and a few beers.

 

where to eat in Tadoussac

.
Chez Mathilde
is recommended for a special supper. This is a classic French Bistro, with an accent on seafood. It was absolutely fantastic and surpassed anything we’ve had recently in Montreal. It’s more expensive than anything else on this list but if you want a romantic supper this is the place.

 

where to eat in Tadoussac

For breakfast we would pick up croissants, pastries, or sandwiches at the boulangerie at the Restaurant La Bolee. It’s a very popular spot.

 


 

 

Things to see around Tadoussac

Just 2km from Tadoussac, are the Tadoussac dunes. There is a trail worth hiking for some nice views of the St. Lawrence.

 

Tadoussac dunes, Tadoussac, Quebec

 

A 20 minute drive East from Tadoussac takes you to the Cap de Bon-Désir Interpretation and Observation Centre where you can learn about the whales, walk around the rocks, and enjoy seeing whales go by from land. Cap de Bon-Désir is just a little east of Les Bergeronnes. We sat here for about an hour and saw a lot of whales, most belugas.

 

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec

Tip: If you’ve paid to get into the Bon-Désir Interpretation and Observation Centre you can get free access to the Marine Environment Discovery Centre which is another 10 minutes down the road. We only found out about it later and were told that it is definitely worth going to.

 

Guide to Tadoussac, Quebec
another photo from the rocks at the junction of the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers.

 

The above covers Tadoussac and  some of the sites of interest along the St. Lawrence coast. But there’s a lot more to the region – go inland up the Saguenay river and you’ll find incredible views and hikes along the fjord. I covered these on a previous trip and you can read on here.

 


 

 

Practical Information:

Organized Tour. This 3 day tour of Quebec City and Tadoussac (from Montreal) is perfect for those who don’t want to worry about the details. Montmorency falls is also included in the tour.

Car Rental. As I say above, there are many points of interest both along the coast and inland. Renting a car is a great way to see it all. We use Rentalcars.com whenever we want to rent a car.

Accommodation: The place to stay in Tadoussac is the historic Hotel Tadoussac. Old, historic, and perfectly located (pictured below). Hotel La Beluga and Motel de L’Anse a L’Eau are a few alternatives.

Flying to Tadoussac: The nearest airport to Tadoussac is Saguenay (YBG) Airport which is 97.2 km away. 

 

 

Tadoussac is a great little town and makes for a really relaxing 2-3 day vacation.

 


 

 

Related: Road Trip to Quebec’s North Coast (including Tadoussac and the Saguenay fjord)

Related: Top Places to Visit in the Province of Quebec

Related: The Ultimate Guide to Canada

 

PS. Looking to book flights, hotels, tours, or rent a car? Have a look at our Travel Resources page.

 

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Filed Under: DESTINATION GUIDES, NORTH AMERICA, REGIONS OF QUEBEC, CANADA

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sue

    July 22, 2015 at 7:46 pm

    My family and I will be headed there in a few short weeks. I’m born and raised in QC and have never ventured that far out before. Your photos make me impatient to see the area for myself! Thank u for this inspiring post!

    Reply
    • Frank (bbqboy)

      July 23, 2015 at 7:20 pm

      Hi Sue,
      Hope you enjoy it! We’re very similar – my early years were in Quebec but I never explored that far east. Makes you realize driving out there what a big province it is.
      Feel free to give feedback when you return!
      Frank (bbqboy)

      Reply
  2. Gabriela

    June 21, 2014 at 1:32 am

    Thanks for sharing all these detailed info. Me, my husband and our dog are coming to the region next week and your information was perfect! Cheers

    Reply
    • admin

      June 21, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      Glad it helps Gabriela! Hope you blog about your trip, be interested in how you like the region.

      Reply
    • Carrie

      August 18, 2015 at 10:20 pm

      Do you recall if there are many trails/walks that dogs are allowed on in the Tadoussac area? I had started planning our trip there and wanted to take our dog but it seems many parks I am checking say no dogs allowed so I may have to re-think this destination. Thanks in advance for any feedback on this.

      Reply
      • Frank (bbqboy)

        August 19, 2015 at 6:48 am

        Hi Carrie – I’m sorry, I don’t remember. There are trails around Tadoussac that are not part of the National Park and I don’t think bringing a dog is an issue…and I never saw anyone official around that would tell you that you could not. As far as National parks, I think it’s ok – this is for another park but usually same rules apply for all: http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nb/fundy/visit/chien-dog.aspx
        If you have time and know where you want to go, I would suggest writing to the park in question to be 100% sure.
        I’m sorry, I wish I had more first hand experience with that or that I could remember.

        Reply
  3. Renuka

    September 22, 2013 at 1:43 pm

    Nice! I never read something like this about Quebec. I always thought Quebec was just about beautiful colorful architecture.

    Reply
    • admin

      September 22, 2013 at 3:32 pm

      Thanks Renuka – oh no, there’s tons of beautiful nature! You should see my posts on the Gaspé and Saguenay. Lots of beautiful national parks with relatively few people. Even the Eastern Townships and Laurentians (both within 1 1/2 hours of Montreal) have peaks and great hiking opportunities. I have a category in the Destinations menu above called “Regions of Quebec” where you’ll see many of these beautiful places covered.

      Reply
  4. Traveling Mariza (

    August 24, 2013 at 3:42 am

    Wow. I need to go there. I love whales! 🙂

    Reply

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Hi! We are Frank & Lissette from Canada. We sold our home in 2014 and have been travelling the world ever since.

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